CSKA Moscow and forward Semen Antonov have agreed to a three-year extension that will keep the sides together through the end of the 2023-24 season. Antonov (2.02 meters, 31 years old) averaged 1.8 points on 45.8% three-point shooting in 32 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games last season. He joined CSKA in 2016 and has helped the team reach four consecutive Final Fours, including winning the EuroLeague trophy in 2019. Antonov has also helped CSKA win five consecutive VTB United League crowns.

Born in Nizhnevartovsk, in the middle of Russia, Antonov started his professional basketball career with Avtodor Saratov and also played for TSU-Basket Tambov and Nizhny Novgorod before joining CSKA. He has also been a member of the Russian national team, which he helped to bronze medals at EuroBasket 2011 and the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Antonov reached the EuroCup Semifinals and the VTB finals with Nizhny in 2014. In 160 EuroLeague career games with Nizhny and CSKA, Antonov has averaged 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Three more years with Simon! 💪<br><br>Forward Semen Antonov (31 years old, 202 cm) signed a new contract with our club, valid until the summer of 2024. <a href="https://t.co/kyIdeG1kTq">pic.twitter.com/kyIdeG1kTq</a></p>&mdash; CSKA Moscow (@cskabasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/cskabasket/status/1406930915255853059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

CSKA, Antonov pen multiyear extension

semen-antonov-cska-moscow-final-four-cologne-2021-eb20.jpg

CSKA Moscow has re-signed guard Ivan Ukhov through the end of the 2022-23 season, with an option for another year, the club announced Monday. Ukhov (1.93 meters, 25 years old) averaged 2.2 points and 0.8 assists in 26 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games last season. He played a bigger role with 5.0 points and 2.0 assists in the Final Four. In his three seasons with CSKA, Ukhov has helped his team win the EuroLeague in 2019 and lift the VTB United League trophy three consecutive times. Ukhov started his career with Parma Perm before joining CSKA in 2018. He helped Perm win the Russian Cup in 2016 and has been a member of the Russian national team.

CSKA re-signs guard Ukhov

ivan-ukhov-cska-moscow-eb20-bf7nb4s68jdt3fm9.jpg

Mantas Kalnietis returns to his boyhood team after signing a two-year deal with Zalgiris Kaunas, the club announced on Monday. Kalnietis (1.95 meters, 34 years old) has played parts of nine seasons with Zalgiris's senior team, including 104 games in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. He helped the club win the Lithuanian League, Lithuanian Cup and Baltic League four times each. He last played for Zalgiris in the first half of the 2015-16 season.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kaunas’ son makes his return. Welcome back to Zalgiris, Mantas Kalnietis! 💚<br><br>📰 <a href="https://t.co/idhzJnyiKs">https://t.co/idhzJnyiKs</a> <a href="https://t.co/X3OaDBr7Mf">pic.twitter.com/X3OaDBr7Mf</a></p>&mdash; BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) <a href="https://twitter.com/bczalgiris/status/1406934028658356224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

Kalnietis arrives from Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, for which he averaged 8.7 points and a EuroCup leading 7.1 assists per game in 18 appearances last season. At the end of the season, he was named to the All-EuroCup Second Team. Kalnietis has also played for AX Armani Exchange Milan in Italy and LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in France. He has captured league championships in both Italy and France plus two Italian Cups. Kalnietis also won the EuroCup in 2013 with Lokomotiv and is a two-time EuroBasket and World Cup medallist with the Lithuanian national team.

Kalnietis returns home on two-year deal with Zalgiris

mantas-kalnietis-zalgiris-kaunas-eb15-6mpq36tgwqu94cru.jpg

Zenit St Petersburg strengthened its backcourt by signing guard Conner Frankamp, the club announced Monday. Frankamp (1.85 meters, 25 years old) arrives from UCAM Murcia, where he averaged 15.7 points and 3.5 assists in 25 Spanish League games last season. A highly-touted high school recruit due to his elite shooting, Frankamp played one season for the University of Kansas before returning home to suit up for Wichita State University.

Frankamp started his professional career with Boreo of Bulgaria and also played for Rethymno Cretan Kings, with which he led the Greek League in scoring (20.9 ppg.) in the 2019-20 season. Frankamp has also been a member of the Georgian national team. Before that, he helped the USA national team to win respective gold medals at the 2011 U16 FIBA Americas Championships and the 2012 U17 World Championships. He will make his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut with Zenit this season.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">👋🏾 Please, welcome! <a href="https://twitter.com/CFrankamp_23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CFrankamp_23</a> is a New Player of Our Club.<a href="https://t.co/MwgsnQsy11">https://t.co/MwgsnQsy11</a> <a href="https://t.co/khJdrAr2xb">pic.twitter.com/khJdrAr2xb</a></p>&mdash; Basketball club Zenit (@zenitbasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/zenitbasket/status/1406930595360526340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

Zenit adds shooting ace Frankamp

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul added another scoring threat to its roster by signing versatile swingman Marial Shayok to a one-year deal with an option for another season, the club announced on Monday. Shayok (1.96 meters, 25 years old) spent the second part of last season with Frutti Extra Bursaspor where he averaged 18.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists in the Turkish League. That was Shayok's debut on the European stage. Having turned pro in 2019, he previously played with Delaware of the G-League and appeared in four NBA games with Philadelphia. A native of Canada, Shayok is now set to make his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="tr" dir="ltr">Marial Shayok Fenerbahçe Beko’da! ✍️💛💙<br><br>👉 <a href="https://t.co/1OjuG87USr">https://t.co/1OjuG87USr</a> <a href="https://t.co/Drho4x6bHG">pic.twitter.com/Drho4x6bHG</a></p>&mdash; Fenerbahçe Beko (@FBBasketbol) <a href="https://twitter.com/FBBasketbol/status/1406899967520825346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

Fenerbahce adds versatility with Shayok

Zalgiris Kaunas continued putting together its roster for the upcoming season by boosting its frontcourt with big man Josh Nebo, the club announced on Monday night. Nebo (2.06 meters, 23 years old) arrives from Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli League where he averaged 13.6 points, led the competition with 9.9 rebounds and also had 1.1 blocks in 26 appearances this past season. It was the first professional season for Nebo, who previously split his four seasons in college between St. Francis University and Texas A&M University. He is now set to make his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut in a Zalgiris uniform.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Zalgiris signs Josh Nebo to a 1+1 deal! Welcome to Kaunas and the <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EuroLeague</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/Joshnebo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Joshnebo</a>! 🤝 <a href="https://t.co/DR5DIMidBH">pic.twitter.com/DR5DIMidBH</a></p>&mdash; BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) <a href="https://twitter.com/bczalgiris/status/1407058866836324354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

Zalgiris inks big man Nebo

Ergin Ataman's outstanding work on the Anadolu Efes Istanbul bench was recognized on Monday with the announcement that he has won the Alexander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year award for the 2020-21 season as voted by his peers, the head coaches of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Ataman made history this season by leading Efes to its first EuroLeague title, completing a run that started when he took over a team in last place midway through the 2017-18 season. Efes finished the regular season in third place with a 22-12 record before disposing of the previous two champions – 2018 winner Real Madrid in the playoffs and 2019 winner CSKA Moscow in the semifinals – to reach the championship game, where it outlasted FC Barcelona. Efes became the first team in more than two decades to lift the EuroLeague trophy without any previous winners of the competition on the squad.

The Coach of the Year award is chosen by EuroLeague head coaches with the stipulation that no coach votes for himself. Behind Ataman, who received 12 of a possible 18 first-place votes, came Andrea Trinchieri of FC Bayern Munich, Ettore Messina of AX Armani Exchange Milan and Sarunas Jasikevicius of FC Barcelona.

Although the voting for the award is based solely on the 2020-21 season, Ataman laid the groundwork for his team's triumph over three seasons. After leading Efes to the championship game in 2019, he had Efes coasting atop the standings with a 24-4 record when the 2019-20 season came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This season, injuries caused Efes to stumble out of the gate with an 8-9 record at the midway point of the regular season. Ataman guided his team to wins in 11 of their next 12 games, however, to clinch home-court advantage for a EuroLeague Playoffs showdown against Real Madrid. Efes was once again dominant against Real with respective victories by 27 and 23 points in the first two playoff games. Real turned the series on its head with come-from-behind victories in Games 3 and 4 in the Spanish capital, but those would be the final losses for Ataman's team this season. Efes won Game 5 at home, triumphed over CSKA and Barcelona at the Final Four in Cologne and then rolled past archrival Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul to capture the Turkish League championship.

Over the last three seasons, Ataman's squad has relied on a dynamic backcourt to lead the league in scoring (85.2 ppg.) and three-point shots made (1,112). The likes of Vasilije Micic, Shane Larkin, Krunoslav Simon and Rodrigue Beaubois formed a perimeter attack that opponents could not contain. Ataman was behind it all, believing in his players, encouraging them to attack and shoot. His coaching helped turn Micic from a reserve player in the EuroLeague MVP and Sertac Sanli from a fringe player to a starting center who dominated key stretches of the Final Four. Alongside them, veterans such as Adrien Moerman, Bryant Dunston, Chris Singleton, James Anderson and Tibor Pleiss accepted smaller roles under Ataman to create a team that deferred to the hot hand or the best matchup to win more games – 75 – than any team in the past three seasons.

Ataman began his relationship with Efes as a youth coach and, at 30 years old, took the reins of first-division Turk Telekom Ankara in 1996. He also coached Pinar Karsiyaka before he was hired to be Efes's head coach in 1999 and guided the team to its first Final Four – and the first by any Turkish club – in 2000. He ventured to Italy a year later and took Montepaschi Siena to the 2002 Saporta Cup and the 2003 EuroLeague Final Four. After three seasons with Ulker Istanbul and one each with Fortitudo Bologna in Italy and Besiktas Istanbul, Ataman was back on the Efes bench in 2008 for two more years. A second stint with Besiktas resulted in winning both the FIBA Euro Challenge and Turkish League in 2012. He then began a five-year run with Galatasaray Istanbul, with which he won the Turkish League in 2013 and the 2016 7DAYS EuroCup. Ataman also coached the Turkish national team from 2014 to 2016. He is now one of just three coaches – joining Dusan Ivkovic and Aito Garcia Reneses – to have won four different European trophies. Ataman also joined Ivkovic and David Blatt as the only coaches to win both the EuroLeague and the EuroCup. He has been on the bench for 293 EuroLeague games this century, with a 146-147 record.

The Alexander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year Trophy pays tribute to the coaching legend who won the first three continental titles from 1958 to 1960 with ASK Riga. Gomelskiy, the father of basketball in the Soviet Union and Russia, also led CSKA to the continental crown in 1971 for his fourth and final title. He passed away in 2005 at age 77. Since then, the award has been handed out to the best head coach of each EuroLeague season as voted by his fellow coaches. Pini Gershon of Maccabi Tel Aviv was the inaugural winner in 2005; Ettore Messina won the trophy with CSKA in 2006 and 2008; Obradovic did so in 2007 and 2011 with Panathinaikos Athens and in 2017 with Fenerbahce; Dusko Vujosevic won with Partizan Belgrade in 2009; the 2010 winner was Xavi Pascual of Regal FC Barcelona; Dusan Ivkovic and Georgios Bartzokas, both of Olympiacos Piraeus, won in 2012 and 2013, respectively; David Blatt of Maccabi was the 2014 award winner; Pablo Laso captured the trophy in 2015 and 2018 with Real Madrid, as did Dimitris Itoudis with CSKA in 2016 and 2019.

Coach Ataman will receive his Alexander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year Trophy in a ceremony before Efes plays its first home game of the 2021-22 season next fall.

Ergin Ataman of Anadolu Efes Istanbul won the Alexander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year award for the 2020-21 season as voted by his peers, the head coaches of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

Coach of the Year: Ergin Ataman, Anadolu Efes Istanbul

AX Armani Exchange Milan continued to strengthen its roster for the upcoming season with the addition of Devon Hall on a two-year deal, the club announced on Sunday

Milan adds backcourt depth with Hall

Hall (1.96 meters, 26 years old) arrives from Brose Bamberg where he spent last season. He averaged 14.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists in Basketball Champions League, and posted 12.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in the German League action. Hall started his professional career in Australia with Cairn Taipans in 2018, and after that also played with Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA as well as Oklahoma City Blue in the G-League. Hall is now set to make his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut.

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="it" dir="ltr">&quot;Sono super entusiasta, è una grande occasione e potrò migliorare&quot;: all&#39;Olimpia arriva Devon Hall➡<a href="https://t.co/LFgWUVgSQW">https://t.co/LFgWUVgSQW</a><br><br>&quot;I&#39;m super excited, it&#39;s an amazing opportunity and will get better&quot;: Devon Hall is coming to Milano➡<a href="https://t.co/mXFfVGmLQm">https://t.co/mXFfVGmLQm</a> <br><br>⚪️🔴<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/insieme?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#insieme</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WelcomeDevon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WelcomeDevon</a> <a href="https://t.co/V1T8c1nQtA">pic.twitter.com/V1T8c1nQtA</a></p>&mdash; Olimpia Milano (@OlimpiaMI1936) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlimpiaMI1936/status/1406557327545753600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>

AX Armani Exchange Milan continued to strengthen its roster for the upcoming season with the addition of Devon Hall on a two-year deal, the club announced on Sunday.

AX Armani Exchange Milan added size and versatility to it roster by inking small forward Davide Alviti to a three-year deal, the club announced Saturday

Milan brings in forward Alviti

Alviti (2.00 meters, 24 years old) arrives from Allianz Pallacanestro Trieste, where he averaged 10.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 31 Italian League games last season. He started his career with Eurobasket Roma and also played for Virtus Roma, Dinamica Generale Mantovana, Orsi Derthona Basket Tortona, Andrea Costa Imola and DeLonghi Treviso Basket 2012 before joining Trieste in 2020. Alviti helped Treviso win the Italian second division title, and has been a member of the Italian national team. "I am enthusiastic and excited about embracing this new challenge. Milan represents the top, so I couldn't be happier and more motivated to open this chapter of my life," Alviti said after the agreement. "I want to help Olimpia. I can't wait to start."

<div style="display: grid; place-items: center;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="it" dir="ltr">&quot;Emozionato, contento, motivato, Milano è il top&quot;: la nuova sfida di Davide Alviti ➡ <a href="https://t.co/SBE3pBSGu7">https://t.co/SBE3pBSGu7</a><br><br>&quot;Enthusiastic, excited and motivated, Milan represents the top&quot;: David Alviti is coming to Olimpia ➡ <a href="https://t.co/QMwQUCnTof">https://t.co/QMwQUCnTof</a> <br><br>⚪️🔴<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/insieme?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#insieme</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WelcomeDavide?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WelcomeDavide</a> <a href="https://t.co/Vo5OGNZ9Oc">pic.twitter.com/Vo5OGNZ9Oc</a></p>&mdash; Olimpia Milano (@OlimpiaMI1936) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlimpiaMI1936/status/1406268774072963075?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

AX Armani Exchange Milan added size and versatility to it roster by inking small forward Davide Alviti to a three-year deal, the club announced Saturday.